Go inside

"I'd be happy to see your new home, Mr. Twilwell," Rebecca says with a smile. "I haven't been here since old Lord Withington passed."

"Ah, yes. I understand he was something of a local legend!" Twilwell comments as he precedes her up the wide front stairs and opens the grand doorway.

"Oh, he was a bit of a crank, but a good man," Rebecca tells him. "He threw a good party every year around Christmastime. I do hope you'll consider hosting a ball or party of your own sometime."

"I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise," Twilwell says with a chuckle.

The inside of Applethorpe Manor is just as large and imposing as Rebecca remembers - particularly with white cloths draped across many of the furnishings. The first room is an imposing foyer-cum-grand hall, with a sweeping double staircase that leads up to the second-floor gallery and a passage to the dining room in the center.

"I see you've already begun to make your mark on this house," Rebecca comments as she looks about.

"Have I? Most of the old Lord's property was removed long ago, so I don't know what it was like before."

"Indeed you have," Rebecca says, pleased to be able to tell the man that he's smart. "He used to have these musty old wall hangings all about. The room now feels light, and elegant. You've done an excellent job."

"I'm very pleased it meets your satisfaction," Twilwell says with a smile. "May I show you the rest of the house?"

The tour passes quickly for Rebecca; the public rooms of this house, here on the ground floor, she visited many times while growing up. She's delighted by some of the changes Twilwell has made (particularly the more expensive ones, which she does notice), so it's not hard to find ways to tell him he's a very smart and sophisticated man. The dining room, small ballroom, smoking room, and parlor are all quite lovely.

The only real surprise comes near the end of the tour, when Twilwell pauses at what Rebecca knows to be the door to the Manor's library. He knocks briefly at the door before entering, and when she follows him into the room she is surprised to see a young woman pulling a cloth back over a large object - perhaps a bust on a column or something like that, based on the size and shape. The young woman is dressed as a servant, and when she turns to bow to Twilwell and Rebecca, Rebecca can see that she has a fine-boned face, with large, limpid blue eyes, full lips, and light brown hair.

"Miss Foxhaven, this is Ella - formerly Eleanor Idington - my ward servant. I was in business with her father, and he made a series of rather serious errors...hence Ella coming into my household." Twilwell shrugs apologetically. "She cleans and performs some other services for me." To Ella, he asks, "Have you been doing your duty, Ella?"

"Yes, m- sir," the girl replies, eyes downcast. Rebecca can't help but raise an eyebrow, noting a sheen of saliva around the girl's lips. What kind of services does Twilwell have her performing, exactly...?